Thursday, January 15, 2009

I woke up early last Saturday, and since I currently have an empty fridge without even milk for cereal, I decided to drive down to Potrero/Mission (I really don't consider this area the mission, although a lot of people do... it's very borderline) since my schedule for the day was flexible. There's been a buzz going around about Dynamo Donuts since its summer 2008 opening, and I decided to spend my morning finally checking it out. It was really the perfect day to do it, too! The city is so great when the weather is warm(er), especially on a lazy and quiet morning when there isn't any traffic. I had never actually been by it, so I was really surprised when I got there because it's really just a kiosk. A very big kiosk, much like the Blue Bottle in Hayes.

It's called "Dynamo Donut + Coffee," but it really should've been the other way around. If I had been just a passer by, I wouldn't have even guessed they were known for their fried treats since their coffee machines and such take up almost the entire counter space. Their donuts seem almost like an afterthought displayed in domed cake stands. All that aside, let's talk about the donuts.One of their most popular flavors is a maple bacon donut, which isn't exactly a particularly new flavor combination, but I wanted to try it nonetheless. Apparently they only make those "usually Fridays or Sundays." Shouldn't they make that information available? Blah. Instead, I opted for the meyer lemon huckleberry, and the banana dulce de leche filled one. I also specifically went fairly early in the morning, too, so I could get a good, fresh selection, but the ones I ended up getting still felt cold and as if they'd been sitting for awhile. I was hoping to avoid what happened with Doughnut Plant, but I guess it didn't matter in the long run.

The dough was nice and light, not greasy. However, I really feel that "gourmet" donut shops should either fry batches to order, or throughout the day. They would really taste ten times better, and wouldn't be susceptible to the chewy-ness that starts to happen after sitting for awhile. I think they are made off-site, possibly because of lack of permits or something, and that's really a shame. As for the flavors? The dulce de leche was very nice and creamy, but only one side had the filling, while the other side had a few mashed banana pieces. Are they adding the fillings separately? Doesn't make sense to me. It was nice that the huckleberry one wasn't just about the glaze, since it had actual pieces embedded in the dough. The meyer lemon, however, did not come out.

While I appreciated their flavors, I left feeling like I had wasted my morning. I would consider returning if I was in the area and they had the maple-glazed apple bacon donut available. Otherwise, I wouldn't trek back over there unless they started making fresh batches to order.